Just The Facts, Man

We need a new format to debate the political issues of the day.

I’m all for this “free speech” stuff, but opinions presented as facts are doing damage to our country.

Why?

Because the dissemination of these lies and distortions is so pervasive that a great majority of Americans are now basing THEIR opinions on falsehoods. The truth is obscured in a haze of “us versus them” discourse which is factually flawed.

Unfortunately, political debates have been reduced to an exercise in filling the time without having to explain specifics or diversionary tactics that few moderators have the guts to challenge.

Rush Limbaugh and Ed Shultz flourish in their respectively polar environments for a couple of reasons:

1) Opinions presented as facts are NEVER challenged.
2) “Guests” on these shows are not offering opposite viewpoints. They are, in essence….”ditto-heads” (just they way the hosts like it)
3) The host has the microphone—and callers who challenge the host’s opinions are quickly dispatched.

My guess is neither of these talking heads would perform well in a format where opinions needed to be based on facts. Same deal for Glenn Beck, Keith Olbermann or anyone else whose impassioned arguments sometimes stray from the factual to the incendiary without the factual foundation to make their arguments persuasive.

In my dream forum, the setup would be as follows:

A) Time frame would be measured in HOURS, not minutes. This would be a marathon.

B) The moderator—or moderators would be equipped with copious FACTUAL data, including a timeline of events.

C) The moderator would be the ultimate judge and jury—with an on/off switch to the microphone of each combatant. Frequent interruptions by the moderator to challenge the so-called “facts” espoused by the debater would be the primary activity.

D) Getting started would be easy. Either party could start the dialogue by making a broad statement about the direction of the country and who was to blame. With the moderator’s constant insertion of facts to refute the stream of lies and distortions, it would be great theatre to watch Rush or Ed or whomever reduced to a bumbling, stammering mess.


That’s exactly what would happen. At least to some of the so-called “experts”

Fox News is almost criminal in its presentation of outright, deliberate lies (President Obama’s religion, for instance) as “news” or “facts”. At the other end of the spectrum, MSNBC is equally biased, although I believe more balanced—especially with the excellent “Morning Joe” program, hosted by a conservative Republican who is surrounded by mostly liberal colleagues, save for Pat Buchanan. Joe Scarborough takes shots at Obama---legitimate criticism of his policies—without succumbing to the dominant Republican orientation to demonize everything about our President. His is a reasonable voice of dissent, a fair man who understands the enormity of the mess that Obama inherited from the Bush Administration. This morning show features spirited debate without getting mean-spirited.

Here are a couple of different viewpoints of the bias of both MSNBC and FOX News:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpT5EFpd6gg




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DTUpKAuyhU&feature=fvst

That’s the way Congress used to operate.

MSNBC is guilty of focusing too much attention on petty minutia, like the TV ad about Christine O’Donnell claiming she’s “not a witch”.

OK-she’s an idiot. Truly a space cadet, one who is quickly burying herself with her own words. Even Karl Rove thinks she’s a joke. MSNBC doesn’t need to play clips of her wild assertions about mice with human brains or whatever the hell she said. This is not news. It is the self-destruction of a marginally intelligent lightweight—and this cable network is taking glee in watching this train-wreck unfold. The only thing more amusing is watching conservatives like Buchanan try to defend her. Let it go.

So, would Rush, Beck, Ed, Olbermann or any of these self-described “voices of the people” ever agree to square off against their polar opposite—in a forum where factual answers, opinions based on facts and ONLY facts were allowed—all with a moderator who wouldn’t waste a second to expose their hypocrisy, their lack of knowledge, their inability to wage a war of words without distortion—all in a setting where it would last for hours and they would not be “in control”?

I doubt it---but I would love to see it.

If you’d like my blog in your inbox daily, let me know! tim.moore@citcomm.com